Rovinj Municipal Museum

Address

Open for visitors

General Data

The museum, founded in 1954, is located in two buildings on the main square: in the Baroque Califfa palace (17^th/ 18^th century) and the neighboring Culture Hall.

The permanent exhibition consists of representative pieces from the Collection of Modern and Contemporary Art and the Collection of Old Masters, as well as an exhibition of maritime history and archaeology.

The archaeological exhibition displays finds from a multi-period late Roman tomb (2^nd to 4^th c.) from the area of Veštar Bay and parts of the stone decorations from the Carolingian church of St. Thomas (9^th century).

The Collection of Old Masters holds very valuable works, particularly those by Italian painters created between the 15^th and the 19^th centuries. The Renaissance is represented by one work from each of the circles of G. Bellini and B. de Pitati (Adoration of the Magi), while the most significant representatives of the Baroque are M. Ricci (The Road to Emmaus), A. Zanchi, G. Romanino, N. Grassi, the circle of G. Reni, the circle of B. Strozzi, and others. Of note are the portraits that orignated from Central Europe (G. F. Waldmüller, Portrait of Ludwig of Bavaria) as well as a polychrome wood sculpture (late Gothic Pietà).

The first floor of the museum hosts a selection of works by the most important names in the Croatian art of the second half of the 20^th century (E. Vidović, O. Herman, O. Gliha, E. Murtić, I. Kalina, Š. Vulas, K. Angeli Radovani, I. Picelj, J. Knifer, A. Motika, Ž. Hegedušić, I. Lovrenčić, I. Dulčić, V. Radauš, F. Kulmer, Lj. Ivančić, Đ. Seder, B. Ružić, and others).
The Rovinj Art Circle, from its founders  (B. Mascarelli, C. Dessanti, Z. Matić, M. Brajnović, S. Vuličević, B. Baretić, E. Budicin) to avant-garde artists (A. Garbin, G. Petercol, T. Brajnović and others), is particularly prominent.

Due to the rich maritime and fishing tradition of the area, the Rovinj Museum holds a large number of items of documentary, historical, and artistic value: models of ships, sailors' ex-votos, representations of important naval battles, souvenirs from journeys to exotic countries, portraits of ships, and other items. Works by Alexander Kircher (1867-1939), a painter and sailor, famous for his maritime motifs, as well as his townscapes and paintings of archaeological sites, are occasionally on display.

The Memorial Room of painter Vilko Šeferov (1895-1974), who donated about a hundred of his works to the Museum, illustrates the 1950s and 1960s in Rovinj. It is also reminiscent of the creation of the Art Colony and the Regional Museum, as well as the emergence of Grisia – the art street and the event under the same name.